Some Famous Works of Art
The first production by Nikolais, after the creation of the Henry Street Playhouse, was called KALEIDOSCOPE and premiered at the American Dance Festival. It aired in the spring of 1956 and showcased his company of seven dancers, intensively trained by him, for the past 7 years. The next production to follow PRISM, BEWITCHED, AND CANTOS was an improvisational performance by the dancers that utilized mirrors and the specific use of score and lighting. The act was performed on four separate occasions and was different each time. TOTEM, an act centered on religion and fetish with an element of barbarism, was performed at the Fifth Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. The act received serious criticism. Following this, Nikolais went the complete opposite direction for his next performance, IMAGO. This act was meticulous and orderly; the performers were placed in similar make-up and headdress to accentuate unity. A much larger production, SANCTUM, showcased 27 performers, compared to the standard 10-15 Nikolais commonly used. This act dealt with opposites: natural vs. man-made, reality vs. imagination, primitive vs. sophisticated. The performance sold-out for 6 straight weeks in New York.
Read more about this topic: Alwin Nikolais
Famous quotes containing the words works of art, famous, works and/or art:
“You are always looking for already-felt emotions, just as you like to get an old pair of trousers back from the cleaners, which seem new when you don’t look too closely. Artists are cleaners, don’t let yourself be taken in by them. True modern works of art are made not by artists but quite simply by men.”
—Francis Picabia (1878–1953)
“Marrying any man is risky. Marrying a famous man is kissing catastrophe.”
—John Colton (1886–1946)
“All his works might well enough be embraced under the title of one of them, a good specimen brick, “On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History.” Of this department he is the Chief Professor in the World’s University, and even leaves Plutarch behind.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Art for art’s sake, with no purpose, for any purpose perverts art. But art achieves a purpose which is not its own.”
—Benjamin Constant (1767–1834)